WEBVTT - How Much Dirt Do We Eat in a Year?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Laurin bobel Bomb here. We all know that weep

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't eat dirt, but we do it anyway, mostly not

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<v Speaker 1>on purpose. A dirt gets into our bodies all day,

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<v Speaker 1>every day, whether we want it to or not. It's

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<v Speaker 1>understandably difficult to figure out exactly how much is getting in,

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<v Speaker 1>but that might be beside the point. After all, most

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<v Speaker 1>of what we consume that isn't just water is technically

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<v Speaker 1>made up of dirt that was only recently converted into

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<v Speaker 1>plant matter or animal matter or fungus. We get our

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<v Speaker 1>daily dirt allowance in all kinds of ways from contaminated food,

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<v Speaker 1>dust inhalation, and not washing our hands before eating. The

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<v Speaker 1>Environmental Protection Agency or EPA, has actually compiled an enormous

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<v Speaker 1>amount of research on dirt consumption. Apparently, the dirt we

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<v Speaker 1>consume breaks down into two basic parts, soil and dust.

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<v Speaker 1>About forty five percent of the stuff we inhale or

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<v Speaker 1>invertinly eat is soil and fifty five percent is dust.

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<v Speaker 1>The EPA numbers on unintentional dirt consumption focus on children,

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<v Speaker 1>with one study reporting that babies from six weeks to

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<v Speaker 1>one year old generally get about sixty milligrams a day.

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<v Speaker 1>From ages to one to twenty years that amount goes

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<v Speaker 1>up to about one hundred milligrams a day. For reference,

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<v Speaker 1>fifty milligrams equals one sixth of an aspirin tablet, so

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<v Speaker 1>we're not taking in all that much dirt. If you

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<v Speaker 1>take those daily numbers and make them annual, that would

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<v Speaker 1>be about thirty six five hundred milligrams or one point

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<v Speaker 1>three ounces per year. Again not a totally horrifying amount. Kids,

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<v Speaker 1>as we know, kind of love eating dirt, especially between

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<v Speaker 1>the ages of one and three years oh One researcher

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<v Speaker 1>theorized that although childhood dirt eating certainly is based in

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<v Speaker 1>curiosity about the world and the new ability to play

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<v Speaker 1>and grab, it could also be an effort to get

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<v Speaker 1>some vitamins and minerals. A purposeful dirt eating usually happens

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<v Speaker 1>around a year old, which is when many babies stop breastfeeding,

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<v Speaker 1>so maybe they're instinctually trying to regain some of that nutrition. However,

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<v Speaker 1>some people do keep eating dirt after early childhood, a

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<v Speaker 1>condition sometimes called geophagy or soil pika, pika being the

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<v Speaker 1>habit of eating non food items. In most of American culture,

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<v Speaker 1>geophagy is regarded with some concern and a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>of fascination. Pika, in fact, is a recognized disease by

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<v Speaker 1>the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, with

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<v Speaker 1>intentional dirt consumption of five hundred milligrams a day qualifying

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<v Speaker 1>as quote pathological. But historically and in many other cultures,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not so odd to eat specific types of dirt

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<v Speaker 1>in specific situations. You can find bags of white kalin

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<v Speaker 1>clay alongside other local snacks in some American convenience stores,

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<v Speaker 1>often labeled by law as not intended for consumption. Similarly,

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<v Speaker 1>some types of dirt are part of pregnancy culture in

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<v Speaker 1>sub parts of Sub Saharan Africa, and generally the practice

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<v Speaker 1>is meant to soothe upset stomachs or add extra nutrients

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<v Speaker 1>to the diet. So while there's definitely cause for concern

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<v Speaker 1>about contaminated food and soil, maybe we don't need to

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<v Speaker 1>worry so much about inadvertent dirt consumption. It's only natural,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're all made of dirt anyway, right. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article how much Dirt Do I

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<v Speaker 1>Eat in A year? On how Stuffworks dot Com written

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<v Speaker 1>by Alison Cooper. A green Stuff is production of iHeartRadio

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<v Speaker 1>in partnership with houstuffworks dot Com and is produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Klang. The four more podcasts from my heart Radio

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<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple podcasts are wherever you listen

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